Converter coupling for vacuum cleaners



Fell 9-40. L. w. PARDEE I CQNVERTER COUPLING FOR VACUUM CLEANERS Filed June 3, 1937 74 Parcdqe 4 a;

INVENTOR Llo d BY y 410 ATTO E Patented Feb. 20,1940

CONVERTER COUPLING FOR VACUUM CLEANERS Lloyd W. Pardee, Lakewood, Ohio, assignor to The Scott & Fetzer Company,

Cleveland,

Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application June 3, 1937, Serial No. 146,192

. 3 Claims.

This invention relates to electric suction cleaners of the portable type and it has for its objects 19 become more apparent and better understood after consideration has been given to the following detailed description of the invention taken in connection with the drawing which shows, merely by way of illustration, structure adapted for carrying out the objects of the invention.

In the drawing accompanying and forming a part of this application, Figures 1 and 2 are side elevational-views, partly in section, of a suction cleaner equipped with a motor driven brush;

Figure 1 showing the cleaner without the extension hose connection or coupling member and Figure 2 showing the cleaner with hose connection in place; and Figure 3 is an enlarged detail side elevational view of the coupling member.

A suction cleaner of the so-called horizontal type has been selected for the purpose of illustrating an embodiment of the invention: Such a cleaner comprises a rigid casing defining a motor housing I, a fan casing 2 and a collecting nozzle 3 arranged in the order named from rear to front and mounted on suitable wheels l, 4 so that the inlet mouth 5 with which the nozzle is provided is located substantially parallel with and in close proximity to the supporting surface.

36 A propelling handle (not shown) is attached to the device in some suitable way as by means of trunnions 6, 6 carried one at each side of the motor housing. A fan 1 inside the fan easing 2 is 1 carried on the shaft 8 of the motor (not shown)- and a peripheral part of the fan casing is provided with an outlet neck 9 adapted for reception of a dust bag (not shown) whereby dust and dirt are. separated from the air before it is allowed toescape from the bag.

In the lower portion of the nozzle 3, a. brush in is rotatably mounted. means of a belt II which is adapted for engagement with a pulley l2 located at the outermost end of the motor shaft 8.. The nozzle 3 com-- '50 municates with the Ian casing by way of a fan case inlet i3. The front wall of the nozzle is provided with an opening in alignment with the fan case opening. A removable cover I5 is provided for the opening ll. 5 somewhat smaller than the fan case inlet so that The brush is driven by The opening II is the cover l5 maybe kept as small as possible for the sake of the appearance of the cleaner.

When it is desired to use the extension or dusting tools of the cleaner, the cover l5 may be removed and a dusting tool converter or coupling 6; member l6 may be inserted and adjusted in the opening l4 after the manner indicated in Figure 2 of the drawing. This coupling comprises a body portionin the, form of a section of tubin I"! with side guide wings I8, l8 and one or more 19 lower guide wings 20. A spring fastener or latch 2| is riveted at 22 to the top portion of the tube. The forward end of the spring is guided between a pair of arms or lugs 23 which may be formed integral with the tube IT. The spring 2| is also Y5 provided with a notched portion which en gages with the inner surface of the nozzle when the coupling device is in place.

The opening M of the nozzle is slightly larger than the diameter of the tube l1. One end of the tube I! is provided with a flexible rubber flange or annulus 25 which is of such diameter and thickness as to be easily inserted through the opening It while at the same time sealing the tube H with respect to the fan case inlet l3 when 25 the coupling is in position for use. The annulus 25'is preferably vulcanized to the end portion of a liner or sleeve 26 which is held in place in the tube H by means of the rivets 22. The forward. end of the tube i1 is adapted to receive one end 30 of a flexible hose 2! by means of which the fan case inlet is connected to one or the other of a number of attachment or utility tools which may be connected to the other end of the hose Zl.

The present arrangement has the advantage $5 of not requiring extremely accurate alignment of the fan case and nozzle openings 53 and M respectively. The use of a rubber sealing ring such as the one indicated at 25 eliminates the need of providing accurately machined surfaces'to conto tact with the tube ii, for when the device is in use, the suction in the fan case will ordinarily be sufiicient to cause the ring 25 to seal about the inlet mouth of the fan case-in air-tight relation if it has not already done so. 45

When one is finished using the attachments, the coupling may be readily removed by simply depressing the end of the spring 2! whereupon the coupling is freed for removal from the nozzle and after the belt H has been replaced on the pulley l2 and-the cover l5 has been applied, the

machine is in condition to be used as an ordinary vacuum cleaner I I The foregoing description and the accompany- 1 ing drawing to which it relates. describes what might be termed the preferred mode of practicing the invention. It is to be clearly'understood, however, that the invention includes each and every novel feature or combination of novel features herein disclosed, subject only to the restrictions of the prior art, and that the invention may assume other forms and it is not to be limited to the particular and specific structure shown and described herein.

Having thus described my invention what I claim is;

1. A suction cleaner comprising a fan chamber having a centrally arranged inlet, a floor cleaning nozzle depending from said chamber,

the upper end of said nozzle surrounding said inlet, an opening in said nozzle in alignment with said inlet adapted to receive and position a dusting tool coupling in operative position in said inlet, a dusting tool coupling having one end thereof secured to a dusting tool conduit and the other end thereof provided with a flexible rubber annulus proportioned to overlap the edges of said inlet and bedrawn'into engagement proportioned to overlap the edges of said inlet and be drawn into engagement throughout'the overlapped edge area ,by the suction in the lan chamber, said coupling being provided with a spring-pressed latch arranged to bear against the opening in the nozzle to restrain bodily move-- ment of the coupling away from the inlet opening in the fan chamber.

3. A suction cleaner comprising a fan chamber having a centrally arranged inlet, a floor cleaning nozzle extending away from said inlet and proportioned at one end thereof to surround the inlet, a fan mounted in said fan chamber provided with a driving shaft adapted to extend through the inlet and into the nozzle, a floor cleaning brush mounted at the end of the nozzle remote from said inlet, said nozzle also provided with an opening in alignment with said inlet, adapted to receive and position a dusting tool coupling adapted to be arranged within said nozzle transversely of said brush and coaxially of said shaft, said coupling secured to a dusting tool conduit at one end'and the other. end thereof being provided with a soft, flexible, non-metallic annulus proportioned to overlap the peripheral edge of said inlet and be drawn into engagement throughoutthe overlapped edge area by the suction in the fan chamber, means carried by the outer wall of said coupling intermediate the ends thereof to restrain bodily movement of the coupling away from the inlet and insure thatv said annulus will be properly positioned in overlapping edge engagement with the periphery of the inlet.

LLOYD W. PARDEE. 

